The Heli-Ski Blog

5 Best Ski Movies

At some point in the ski season, whether on a chairlift, around the lodge after heliskiing or maybe sitting in traffic on I-70 in Colorado..the debate ensues...what are the top ski movies. Not ski movies in the Warren Miller, TGR or Matchstick sense, but Hollywood movies with or about skiing. You might think there are not that many but check out IMDb. Here are my top 5:

5. The Spy Who Loved Me: One of the best opening scenes of the James Bond series. Plus CMH "friend of the show" John Eaves does all the skiing for Roger Moore.

4. Out Cold: Technically about snowboarding but who cares. Some quality "us" vs. "them" plot line along the lines of Caddyshack. Any movie that has "6 Million Dollar Man" star Lee Majors is all good. Plus you can check out a young Zach Galifianakis from "The Hangover". Pro snowboarder Todd Richards puts in a cameo as well. Oh and in Japan this movie was called "Cool Boarder".

3.Better Off Dead: "I want my $2.00". I have seen this movie probably 20 times- which says a lot about me. John Cusack as Lane Meyer skiing the K-12 is pure gold. I use the line "Go that way really fast, if something gets in your way...turn" on every heli-ski trip. Especially useful on Mega Bubba at CMH Galena.

2. Hot Dog:Watching it now the skiing is dated but the overall fun of this movie cannot be denied. Chinese downhill anyone? The cast of characters is classic - Harken Banks, Squirrel Murphy and Rudi Garmisch- what's not to love. Plus Shannon Tweed in hot tub! Watch the ballet skiing scene...who thought that would be a good idea on skis...thankfully that aspect of skiing is gone.

1. Downhill Racer: This is probably the best movie about skiing in my opinion. It came out in 1969 but holds up really well. Robert Redford and Gene Hackman are great as always. The footage of old school racing from Kitzbuhel and Wengen is fantastic.

So there are my top 5 ski movies that end up getting quoted and watched on a regular basis. Who will be the first to chime in that their favorite is "Aspen Extreme"?

Check out some of the great ski movies that CMH Heli-Skiing has been a part of! .

Comments

Go back a few years before these and you will find a movie "Ski a go go". Kind of an Annette Funacello(sp) type. Good guys, bad guys and girls doing the twist.

Posted @ Tuesday, June 22, 2010 6:59 PM
by Pat Brown

Aspen Extreme, Who could forget Dexter Rutecki and TJ Burke. More imoportantly some of the best stunt skiing ever by the late great Doug Coombs on the ice falls. My favorite quote from the whole movie is when TJ is ducking a rope and the ski patroller gets on the radio and calls in " We got a renegade going OB"